Writing instrument having an ellipsoid point revolving in a race



April 18, 1950 J. B. EHRHART ET AL 2,504,189

WRITING INSTRUMENT HAVING AN ELLIPSOID POINT REVOLVING'IN A RACE Filed July 14, 1947 dahn' aE/VEJ/ l/ @7 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 18, 1950 recent UNITED STATES PATENT osmos- WRITING INSTRUMENT HAVING AN ELLIPS OIDPOINT REVOLVING IN A RACE John B. Ehrhart, Leavenwrth,-Kans., and Byron A.Piner, Terre Haute, Ind.

Application July 14, 1947, Serial No. 760,720

2 Claims. (Cl. 120-422) .1 This invention relates to writinginstruments of the fountain pen type and has for its primary aim the provision of a freel rotatable nib mounted within a hollow barrel, which nib also revolves Within the barrel on an axis substantially perpendicular to its axis of rotation.

The most important object of this invention is to provide a writin instrument having an ink applying nib or point so formed'as to present a ball having a plurality of unequal axesand mounted within thesupporting barrel therefor, for rotation on its major axis.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a writing instrument having an ellipticalshaped nib as above set forth, which nib revolves freely within a race formed inthe barrel and on an axis perpendicular to the aforesaid major axis of rotation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a writing instrument having ellipsoidal point revolving in a race, which nib is provided with a pair of opposed pins extending into an annular internal groove formed in the barrel for free revolving movement therein.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a writing instrument having an e1- lipsoidal nib provided with a continuous peripheral bead to present an ink applying writing point and disposed to receive the ink from an open end reservoir therefor, mounted within the barrel.

Many minor objects of this invention will be made clear or become apparent durin the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevationalxview of a writing instrument made in accordance with our present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view thereof, showing another side of the Writing instrument.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevational View thereof, parts being broken away for clearness.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view, taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross sectional view, taken on line V-V of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged stretched-out perspective view of a pair of complementary sections forming a part of the barrel of the writing instrument.

Many fountain pens are on the market today having rotatable members as a part thereof to present a writing point but so far as we know none has been developed that is practical from the standpoint of adaptability to many different types of users therof, including left handed Writers. The instrument about to be'described may be usedat any of various conceivable angles with respect to the writing surface andis adaptableto personalize penmanship'of the user, since the style of writing, includin the fineness ofline, slant and other features will'be determined-entirely upon the way the device is placed in use.

These advantages and many others will become obvious to those skilled in the artand in the drawing the numeral l0 designates a barrel thatis sectional andhollow. This barrel I0 in clu'des a main body section [2 and a pair of complementaryshort sections [4 and I 6. One end of the main section l2 of body I0 is internally threaded as at l8 for receiving external threads 20 of short sections [4 and lfi. Sections and 16, when fitted together as hereinafter described, presents a hollow frusto-conical body -to present a convenient shape and thereby to facilitate handling when the instrument is placed in use. Sections l4 and .16 are each provided with a shoulder 22, which is maintained in abutting-relationship'to the end of section 12, adjacent to threads l8 when the threads IB and 28 are in meshing relationship, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The sections l4 and [6 are each provided with one substantially flat wall 24 and 26 respectively. Half of each of the walls 24 and'26 of sectionsl l and I6 is provided with a plurality of transverse grooves128 and the other wall thereof has a like number of transverse ribs or beads til -thereon. The. grooves 28 of the section Mrecelve'the beads 30 of" the section It and similarlythegrooves 28- of section 16 receive the beads st of section Hi When these two sections are placed together in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. Thus it is seen that when all of the sections of barrel l0 are in operative engagement, the threads l8 and 20 of sections IO, M and it respectively and the grooves 28 and beads 30 all cooperate to rigidly hold sections is and [6 against displacement.

A continuous annular groove 32 is formed in the barrel I 0 when sections l4 and it are together. Half of this groove 32 is formed in each of the sections l4 and I6 near the outermost relatively small end thereof. A nib 34 formed from steel or other suitable material, is solid throughout its area and elliptical-shaped, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. This nib 34 is provided with a pair of opposed pins cast or otherwise formed integrally therewith and disposed in alignment with the major axis of nib 34. These pins 36 and 38 each extend outwardly from the outermost surface of nib 34 and extend into the groove 32 when the component parts of the instrument are assembled. These pins 36 and 38 serve not only to rotatably support the nib 34 within the barrel H) but act as bearings to provide free revolving action of the nib 34 within the groove of race 32. In other words, the ellipsoidal nib 34 is freely rotatable on its major axis within barrel Ill through the medium of pins 36 and 38 and also revolvable in groove 32 on an axis substantially I.

perpendicular to its axis of rotation. Consequently the axis of rotation of the mb 34 is substantially on an extended longitudinal axis through the barrel Ill. The nib 34 is also provided with a continuous peripheral relatively narrow bead 40. This head 40 is disposed substantially centrally between the pins 36 and 38 and encircles the nib 34 in parallelism with its minor axis. This head 40 is preferably cast or otherwise formed integrally with the nib 34 but may if desired, constitute a separate circumscribing ring of relatively hard material adaptable to present a suitable writing point.

Likewise, the pins 36 and 38 may also be formed from jewelled material or like hard substance and the groove 32 lined with a suitable bushing, all for the purpose of preventing undue wear if the materials forming barrel Ill and the nib 34 are not suitably hard. The barrel i is also provided with a hollow tube or container 42 for the writing material 44. This tube 42 is of conventional character and of such size as to be receivable by the interior of panel I0. One end of this tube 42 has an opening 46 provided therein, which is disposed in underlying relationship with the head 48. As the nib 34 is placed in operation and the same rotates and revolves within the race 32, this head 40 remains in continuous engagement with the tube 42 in closing relationship with the opening 46. This Wiping engagement of the bead 40 with the tube 42 causes ink 44 to be continuously fed thereto as the pen is placed in operation.

It is clear from the foregoing that the writing instrument just described may be satisfactorily used when disposed at virtually any angle with respect to the writing surface. As writing takes place, there will be a continuous rotation and revolving movement in the nib 34, to the end that ink is supplied to the writing surface without interruption. The lines formed on the writin surface will be light or heavy, depending upon the angle at which the operator is accustomed to hold ing writing instruments and his penmanship will be characterized thereby. By the same token this writing instrument may be used by a left handed operator as efliciently as when manipulated by a right hand user. The free rotational and revolving action of the nib 34 within the groove 32 permits quick and accurate as well as automatic readjustment thereof, as various upwardly, downwardly and side strokes are made, which When taken with an adequate supply of writing fluid, presents an uninterrupted writing effect when the instrument is placed in use.

Manifestly, many modifications and changes may be made in the writing instrument just described and it is, therefore, desired to be limited only by the spirit of this invention and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a writing instrument having an open end hollow barrel, provided with ink feeding means therein, an ellipsoidal nib mounted for rotation on its major axis within the barrel near said open end thereof, said barrel being provided with a continuous internal groove, said nib being freely revolvable in said groove, said nib having a continuous bead thereon to present an ink-applying writing point, said bead circumscribing the nib adjacent the minor axis thereof.

2. In a writing instrument having an open end hollow barrel, provided with ink feeding means therein, an ellipsoidal nib mounted for rotation on its major axis within the barrel near said open end thereof, said barrel being provided with a continuous internal groove, said nib having a continuous bead thereon to present an ink-applying writing point, said nib extending beyond said one end of the barrel, said head being disposed in inkreceiving relationship to said feeding means.

JOHN B. EHRI-IART. BYRON A. PINER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 123,147 Blackman Jan. 30, 1872 538,492 Askew Apr. 30, 1895 890,274 Hall June 9, 1908 984,855 Schaffnit Feb. 21, 1911 2,258,841 Biro Oct. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 863 Great Britain 1892 278,736 Great Britain 1927 

